Top 5 matchups for Week 8 of the 2024 college football season
5. No. 24 Michigan at No. 22 Illinois – Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS
Michigan and Illinois have been teetering on the edge of the top 25 the past couple of weeks but both enter the 98th game of this historic rivalry as ranked teams. The Wolverines have dominated the Illini through the years with a 72-23-2 series record and have won their last six matchups against Illinois, including a tight 19-17 battle in the teams鈥� most recent contest in Ann Arbor in 2022.
Despite Illinois being a higher-ranked home team, the Wolverines are slight favorites, even coming off of an ugly loss at Washington a couple of weeks ago. Michigan is still trying to find its offensive footing under Sherrone Moore as woes on that side of the ball have plagued it in losses to the Huskies and Texas, and have created closer-than-expected wins over Arkansas State and Minnesota. The Wolverines rank 119th out of 133 FBS teams in total offense and will now turn to veteran Jack Tuttle to lead the unit, their third different starting quarterback this year.
While the offense has struggled, the defense remains a top-50 unit in the country and likely needs to step up and force a low-scoring game against Illinois to have a chance. That may be easier said than done as the Illini are coming off a season-high 50-point effort in an overtime win against Purdue. Illinois has impressively started the campaign 5-1, losing only to No. 3 Penn State. Luke Altmyer has been terrific with 14 touchdowns and just one interception on the season, and his ability to get the ball to talented wideouts Pat Bryant and Zakhari Franklin will be key to beating the Michigan defense.
